PHIL BOYER: 40% OF AOPA MEMBERS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASING THEIR FLYING DUE TO FUEL PRICES

Vaughn Simon wrote:
Have you noticed the difference in the car lots? I am finally
seeing more and more small cars displayed in the front row while the SUVs and
pickups are gradually being relegated to the back rows.


Americans are a reactive bunch. If prices were to come back down, those
SUVs would probably start flying out the door again. When prices spiked
back in '03, smaller cars became the top sellers in the U.S., but only for
about 6 months. As soon as prices came back down, the trucks and SUVs went
right back to the top of the shopping list.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

--
Message posted via AviationKB.com
http://www.aviationkb.com/Uwe/Forums...ation/200806/1

On Jun 15, 4:33 pm, kontiki wrote:
Larry Dighera wrote:

Although I believe it will hurt a lot of workers and small businesses,

Yeah, who cares about them.... they're just the backbone of the country.

it should facilitate a more sound energy policy for our nation.

what energy policy? give us an example of one Larry. And don't use
the word 'they" because I hate that.

It will also make telecommuting and teleconferencing move into the
mainstream. That should have a positive effect on the environment,
but resourceful marketers and corporations may use the public's
distress as an excuse to build more nuclear and coal fired electrical
generating facilities, instead of moving toward wind and solar.

My feelings about it are not at all mixed.

You probably have to drive a considerable distance to work every day.

Wrong. I drive 9 miles to work, and usually drive my motorcycle

Not your grandfather's Harley:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news/video/77000/nb/
77303_16x9_nb.asx
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news/video/77000/nb/
77214_16x9_nb.asx

so I can handle it. I just think its stupid to bankrupt a nation
for the sake of a religion... and observe nation that *are* producing
energy soak up money from hard working Americans.... when it doesn't
have to be that way.

But hey... why should I care? I only drive a motorcycle 9 miles.
Screw everybody else. That's my energy policy.

I wonder how much oil is consumed by the world in, say, a 1-hour
period (on average). Or even 1 minute...


Regards,
Jon

On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:22:31 GMT, "JGalban via AviationKB.com"
u32749@uwe wrote in 85c4762e7b8df@uwe:

Larry Dighera wrote:

While there is little doubt that OPEC is setting the price of their
product at the highest point they feel consumers can bear, that isn't
the real cause of the astronomical rise in prices. From what I've
heard, about 50% of the price of crude oil is the result of wall
street investors moving their wealth out of dollar denominated bonds
and other instruments (because of the threat of the dollar's continued
devaluation) and moving it into inflation-proof commodities (oil).
That creates an exaggerated demand, that raises oil prices, that
increases inflation, that further weakens the dollar, that .... So,
although OPEC naturally shares some of the blame for high fuel prices,
you can thank wall street brokers and wealthy investors for the lion
share of the price increase. And the Chevron/Exxon/Shell/BP/... are
raping, er.. reaping the benefit. So it would seem that we are the
victims of the wealthy and big business; what else is new?

How does OPEC share any blame in this? The have not cut production quotas.
They do not set prices, only production quotas. World commodities markets
set the price.

Thank you for the correction. It seems that I'm not the only one
under that misapprehension:


http://www.metimes.com/Politics/2008...r_june_22/afp/

Reflecting the view in many consumer countries that OPEC is to
blame for the current price pain, Australian Prime Minister Kevin
Rudd urged rich countries last week to "apply the blowtorch to the
OPEC organisation."

OPEC controls the output of its members through a production quota
system designed to influence the price of oil. Quotas are set at
regular meetings. ...

Saudi economist Ali al-Dakkak said world prices were being driven
by "wild speculation" and a lack of refining capacity in consumer
countries, especially the United States. ...


You correctly identified the culprits as the speculators in the commodities
market. The flight from U.S. dollar based investments into commodities (by
largely unregulated hedge funds) means that trillions of new money have
entered those markets. Much like the stock market bubble of the 90s and the
recent housing bubble, this causes prices to reach unrealistic (and
ultimately unsustainable) levels.

This is very obvious when you look at non-oil commodities like copper,
steel, gold, corn, etc... It's not just oil prices that have gone through
the roof.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:06:16 -0700 (PDT), Jon
wrote in
:

Not your grandfather's Harley:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news/video/77000/nb/77303_16x9_nb.asx
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news/video/77000/nb/77214_16x9_nb.asx


Thanks for the heads-up. Very interesting. It seems that the
manufacturer of this hydrogen-powered motorbike, Intelligent Energy,
is the same company that teamed up with Boeing on the first ever
manned flight of a fuel cell powered light aircraft:
http://www.intelligent-energy.com/in...rtid=400 1%20

Here is Intelligent Energy's blurb on the ENV Motorbike:

http://www.intelligent-energy.com/in...6&artid=394 9
ENV – the world’s first purpose built hydrogen fuel cell powered
motorbike from Intelligent Energy

Powered by a 1kW Intelligent Energy fuel cell, the bike has a top
speed of 50mph and range of 100 miles on a tank of compressed
hydrogen. ...

http://www.intelligent-energy.com/in...5&artid=393 8



http://www.intelligent-energy.com/im...env_monaco.pdf
ENV technical specification and team credits
Key Components of the Bike Power System
Motor 6kW, 48 VDC Brush motor (model LEM-170, supplied by
LMC ltd)
Motor Controller Brusa Direct Current (model MD 206)
Fuel Cell 1kW Intelligent Energy air-cooled (2 x AC32-48)
Hydrogen Storage High pressure carbon composite cylinder (Luxfer
L65)
Hydrogen Energy 2.4kWeh
Storage Battery 4 x 12V Lead Acid (15Ahr) connected in series
Performance Data
Acceleration 0 – 20 mph in 4.3s (32kph)
0 – 30 mph in 7.3s (48 kph)
0 – 50 mph in 12.1s (80kph)
Top speed 50 mph (80kph)
(note: ENV has been tested to 50mph – however, with
further refinements and redevelopments, this top speed is
expected to be exceeded)
Range At least 100 miles (160km)
Physical
Bike mass 80 kg (Total mass including CORE)
Fuel
Hydrogen 99.9% purity
Oxygen Taken from air
Hydrogen refuel time less than 5 minutes
Interface
Electrical connection Multi-core (Intelligent Energy specific)
Design and Supplier Team
Client Intelligent Energy
Bike/Core Design Seymourpowell
Bike/Core Identity Pod Design
Frame & Swingarm Caress Precision Products ltd
Engineering & D.B.C. Tools ltd
Machining
Body Work Ogle Models and Prototypes ltd
Welding GP Motorsports UK ltd
Motor LMC ltd
Lighting Marl International ltd
Machinings JH Mays
Bicycle Parts DMR / Upgrade
Batteries PBQ Batteries


More info:
http://puregreencars.com/Green-Cars-...otorcycle.html
Rather than the usual solid steel frame, the ENV is constructed of
hollow-cast, aircraft-grade aluminum and weighs a mere 176 pounds,
including its fuel cell – about half the heft of a typical. ...


http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage2251.html
On a full tank, the ENV bike could be used continually for up to
four hours without any need for re-fuelling. The bike can also be
used by riders of any skill level with simple controls, via a
throttle directly linked to the applied power. The bike has no
gears and is strictly defined as a motorbike, although it feels to
riders more like a very quick and responsive mountain bike. ...



There's a nice article on the ENV he
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8228479/
June. 15, 2005

A British company that unveiled a fuel cell motorcycle earlier
this year has announced that it hopes to have the zero-emission
vehicles for sale by 2006 at a price of $6,000. ... The news
Tuesday came with a decision by Intelligent Energy to relocate to
Los Angeles, Calif. The state has become a hub for fuel cell
research, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to create a
"hydrogen highway" of filling stations for fuel cell vehicles,
whose only emissions are a bit of heat and water vapor....



Comments:
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/20...en-motorcycle/

Jon wrote:

I wonder how much oil is consumed by the world in, say, a 1-hour
period (on average). Or even 1 minute...

Current consumption is something like 86 million barrels per day (86
mbpd). Divide by 24 and you get average hourly consumption of 3.583
mbpd. Divide further by 60 and you get average by-the-minute world
consumption of 59717 kbpd.

The USA alone, with 5% of the world's population, consumes about 25% of
these quantities.

On Jun 16, 10:12�am, "Steven P. McNicoll"
wrote:
wrote:

Maybe if George Bush hadn't vetoed drilling in ANWR back in 1995 and
worked so hard to put so many areas off limits to drilling, we would
be swimming in oil now. �I sure hope I get my share of the windfall
profit tax on the oil companies so I can spend $30-40,000 to put solar
panels on my house and fly my airplane more often, too.

How does the governor of Texas veto oil drilling in Alaska?

I can't believe anybody took my first comments seriously. Of course
it was Bill Clinton who vetoed drilling in ANWAR. I don't have the
roll call on the votes over the years, but you can make your own guess
at which party has voted most often against generating our own
energy. I'm all for conservation, but no matter how much you conserve
anything, you eventually run out if you don't produce more.

DF

On 6/16/2008 12:57 PM yedyegiss ignored two million years of human
evolution to write:

Current consumption is something like 86 million barrels per day (86
mbpd). Divide by 24 and you get average hourly consumption of 3.583
mbpd. Divide further by 60 and you get average by-the-minute world
consumption of 59717 kbpd.

Ugh. 3.583 mbp*h* (hour), 59717 kbp*m* (minute).

Every minute, 60,000 barrels of oil worldwide; in the USA, 15,000.

yd+yg+as wrote:
On 6/16/2008 12:57 PM yedyegiss ignored two million years of human
evolution to write:

Current consumption is something like 86 million barrels per day (86
mbpd). Divide by 24 and you get average hourly consumption of 3.583
mbpd. Divide further by 60 and you get average by-the-minute world
consumption of 59717 kbpd.

Ugh. 3.583 mbp*h* (hour), 59717 kbp*m* (minute).

Every minute, 60,000 barrels of oil worldwide; in the USA, 15,000.

Of course an unfortunate portion of the world lives in poverty, so relative
consumption stats don't provide much insight. Your figures for the U.S. are
close to those provided by the U.S. government for 2006:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/quickoil.html

But consider the average gallons of crude oil consumption per person in the
U.S. (~2006 figures):
(42 gallons/barrel * 20,687,000 barrels/day) / 300,000,000 people =

~2.9 gallons/(person*day)

Put another way, at ~$140/barrel, I get:
($140/barrel * 20,687,000 barrels/day) / 300,000,000 people =

~$9.65/(person*day)

Or yet another way of looking at it, if oil was suddenly "free" the average
yearly "gain" over today's allegedly "high" price would yield
~$3523/(person*year)

On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:50:33 -0700 (PDT), wrote in
:

I'm all for conservation, but no matter how much you conserve
anything, you eventually run out if you don't produce more.


Right.

That's why it's important to begin to switch to renewable energy
sources. Then the Sword Of Damocles can be put to rest.

wrote:
uh, clinton was in office in 1995...

Really! Well, he and Dick Cheney must have put him up to it. Bill
was always looking out for the little guys.

DF

The only reason Bill Clinton ever looked out for the little guy is
because he wanted to know before he got home because Bill was screwing
his wife.